Rocks and artifacts
by Muser8
Summary: Isabella Swan wanted to find out whether vampires really did exist. She decided to fly thousands of miles across the world, to the city of Volterra, to prove to the people that thought she was insane, that in fact she is...sane. AU, OOC


A/N: Hello

All things that appear to be created by Stephenie Meyer are hers.

That was actually the worst disclaimer I've ever read but… oh well

Chapter One

I pressed my palm flat alongside the ancient bricks, pulling in the fresh morning air, as I willed for the walls to somehow relinquish their secrets. I was desperate. I wanted answers. I wanted hope. But most of all, I wanted to be right. A sigh of defeat escaped my parted lips and my eyes blinked back into the clutches of reality.

My professors doubted me. They said my theories were ludicrous. Actually, they called _me_ ludicrous, and my work rubbish. I was studying ancient mythology, having just finished my second year at university. It was the third year for my former peers, as I decided to take the year off and do my own research. I travelled to the ancient city of Volterra to seek the answers I so desperately desired. What could essentially sweep a whole era into fear across the world, and force them to take, what is believed, innocent lives to save theirs? It was impossible to instil such fear amongst a number of people with the play of words uttered by the lips of story tellers. There had to be truth, or at least a foreboding sense.

I was allowing the Urdon text to conduct my travels and provide evidential back up with my research. The text was apparently a mythical story regarding the fall and rise of vampires. It dated back approximately a hundred BC, according to research, and I regarded it to be the most nonsensical, given the other mythology's. Coffins, bats… it was all too ridiculous. The Ottoman stories seemed too _obvious_. I mean; glaringly red teeth, giant figures, hollow heads- we would have noticed the vampires by now. The Urdon text terrifyingly made sense. It explained the wiped beliefs amongst humans of their existence and it showed their erstwhile humanity presented amongst their physical features. They had a nose, a mouth, eyes... they once were human.

The text presented a story like they all did, but this story I believe, described history. According to the text, the vampires had rulers to dictate rules and settlement amongst their species. There was a time when two young, yet old, brothers sat before their kingdom and watched a wild massacre amongst their people. The brothers pridefully clung to their thrones, and turned their heads away at what played out before them. They told their people to live with one belief- they should never hide before their insignificant. But pride could only do so much. The humans built weapons; fire being a denoting figure. They destroyed for their society, for their lives. After all, they were essentially _food_ according to these beings. Three brothers who I believe to have settled behind these walls removed the previous leaders from there thrones and claimed the kingdom as theirs. They retained _peace_, only this peace was beneath masks concealed with secrecy and tamed carnage. The three brothers installed one rule upon their kingdom

_Thou shall not be made known_

The text took me several months to decipher as it was written in the old Arabic language. I always did take joy in learning new languages, but the calligraphy and ancient vocabulary brought me great annoyance. The Urdon text was translated due to the interest of researchers but I refused to trust the indolent jobs from the people who I believed to disregard the things that were thrown before them. And it was right I did. Researchers called it 'Urdon' because of the script inscribed at the bottom of the artifact which often went ignored. It said:

_And let the people of Urdon remember_

I later found that 'Urdon' itself was in fact Jordan. Researchers did trace the text back to the Middle East however, they were apparently unable to pinpoint its exact foundation. 'Urdon' was the original name for the country Jordan, and amongst Arabic speakers, it was frequently and still used. What however, left me confused was how this text could find preservation with the Jordanians, people who were far from the apparent massacre which was said to have occurred in Europe and finally created some sort of settlement here in Volterra, Italy.

I removed my laptop from its case and brought forth the picture I saved of the Urdon artifact. Below the text was an illustration made out of oil pastels and charcoal of a grand castle which I assumed was meant to depict what barely stood before me. It stood at great heights beside an occupied village, contrary to where I stood. The area which surrounded me had not an essence of human life. Complete isolation. The only thing which confirmed I was in the right place was the carving which ran delicately around the building. I balanced my right hand with my laptop and traced the elaborate carvings along the wall with my left index finger.

_Volterra.__Una città__tra__il__Re._

"Volterra. A city... kings?"

I returned my gaze to the illustration. Parallel lines ran across the bottom of the castle. It had been several months since I came across this artifact and till this day I was unable to understand the meaning of those lines.

"What do they represent" I asked myself

I carried my gaze pass the lines, hopeful to get out of the suns glare soon and notice something meaningful towards my research. A large room decorated with dots of orange and yellow sat above three thrones seating three men. I assumed these three men were the _saviours_ of the vampire world. Each person had a highlighting feature making each man stand out from the man in the middle I assumed carried out most rulings and leaded the other two. He wore a small mischievous grin; knowledge and power ascertained in that small emotion. To his left sat a man with white yet youthful hair, his glare magnifying wisdom but screaming his underlying irritation. And the other man. His face lay into the cusps of his hands, his black hair falling past and sitting on his wrists. His legs were lazily stretched before him, yet he still managed to withhold the air of an aristocrat.

I looked up from my laptop screen and revelled in the quite air. Not a leaf shook and not a bird sang. I took small, slow steps past an alcove and into the castle. Insects flocked upon my arrival into the small crevices of fallen bricks. The place was in shambles, yet it still held life. _Grand_ life, despite its lack of care. I shut my laptop and returned it to it's case in my back pack.

My hand danced across the fading walls, a small shiver settling against my spine, as I slowly came to terms with the danger this deserted place permeated. I forced my eyes to memorise my steps, but allowed it to absorb the strange beauty this building still held, despite its lack of preservation. The ceiling allowed odd glares of sunlight to shine through, more so drawing my attention to images which were shockingly still decipherable.

Paintings ran across the ceiling, those of which may have belonged to a gallery if they had better upkeep. I slowed my steps and greedily drank its beauty, my research already forgotten. I walked in a daze, following the swipes of an old brush when my feet came into contact with a large rock, successfully pulling me out of my reverie.

Pain resonated across my foot as I wore off a list of obscenities for the inanimate object. I closed my eyes, and attempted to seek reason in my woe focused mind, assuring myself that it was just mild, temporary discomfort. Nothing was broken and this could go ignored. My annoyed gaze returned to the boulder and spat its own silent list of profanities hatefully at it. I settled my foot gently onto a part of the floor which I made sure was a flat surface, before glimpsing at the rock again.

I crouched down closer to the boulder to scrutinise it further. My eyes were drawn to something out of place; I just couldn't put my finger on it. The boulder was a _boulder_,however, it lacked the natural deception of a rock. There were rubble everywhere but this one seemed almost purposefully placed here. No grains of rock took consolation in its surroundings like the others.

No… it was as if this particular boulder was purposefully placed there.

I crouched before the rock and gently shoved upwards at it, hoping to tip it aside. Despite my lack of force, I could tell that it was firmly placed there, like it was rooted into the floor. I shoved again, with more force behind my arms, but it still refused to budge. Instead, my injured foot slipped and came into contact with the rock once again. Muffling a shout of pain against my arm, I fell exasperatedly before the rock, laying my foot gently and carefully against the boulder.

I was tired, and hope and belief was leaving me before I could even blink. I mean, I was thousands of miles away from home searching for _vampires_. Renee and Charlie would be so proud; they raised a lunatic.

I slammed my feet into the rock with both annoyance and despair. I was an idiot to be honest. I was just going to leave this place, enjoy the country, and never tell my grandchildren about that time I really believed vampires were out there. Even three year olds would laugh at the absurdity of a grown, twenty year old woman, searching for vampires.

_I was even wearing a chained cross around my neck!_

I slowly sat up and pushed my head into my hands,

"I need to see a shrink"

The ground jolted me from my thoughts, giving a wild shake below me. A loud grating sound resonated across the walls. The floor was separating between the boulder, revealing a clean square cut about two metres wide and long. I jumped back further away before I fell through the floor. The shakes stopped and I gathered the courage to peer through the space. Pushing my hair away from my eyes, I noticed a three foot fall would lead to a pathway. Subtle beams of white light peeked through what I understood to be a corridor.

I imagine the grin on my face could not have been any bigger, because on that very day, that corridor was beaming the most welcoming light into my research.

A/N: So I'm not really sure about my writing and I don't like how I finished this chapter but it's been several days and I can't seem to make it any better. I'm looking for a beta but I'd love it to be someone who's interested in the story. Anyway, thanks for giving this a read :)

Also, those Urdon and Ottoman things don't exist, but Arabic speakers do refer to Jordan as Urdon or Urdun… can't get it right with the English letters. If you want the exact pronunciation, type 'Jordan' into google translator and translate it into the Arabic language, then give the Arabic robot thing a listen.


End file.
